FISHES OF HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. 
247 
188. Kyphosus sandwicensis (Sauvage) . “ Nenue pain.” 
Head 3.75 in length; depth 2.15; eye 4.3 in head; snout 2.9; maxillary 3.25; interorbital 2.3; 
D. xi, 12; A. hi, 11; scales 10-72-17. 
Body elongate-ovate, regularly elliptical, moderately compressed; dorsal outline evenly curved, 
nearly uniform from origin of dorsal to tip of snout, a slight depression over eyes, thence steeper to 
tip of snout; head deeper than long, compressed; snout bluntly rounded; jaws equal, the upper lip 
very broad, maxillary slipping under preorbital for most of its length, not quite reaching eye; a single 
row of moderately broad and strong incisor teeth on each jaw, their roots with very conspicuous back- 
ward parallel prolongation; behind these a narrow band of villiform teeth, similar villiform teeth on 
vomer and palatines; tongue very inconspicuous; eye entirely above axis of pectoral, anterior, with a 
prominence on snout above and in front of it; preorbital entire; interorbital broad and convex; caudal 
peduncle short, its length 2.5 in head; origin of dorsal slightly behind origin of ventrals; distance from 
origin of dorsal to tip of snout slightly less than depth; dorsal spines moderately strong, longest spine 
much higher than soft dorsal, 1.9 in head; first spine half as long as second; caudal broad, not deeply 
forked, its upper lobes slightly the longer, the length, measured from base of first supporting ray to 
tip, slightly longer than head; anal similar to soft dorsal, its base equal to that of soft dorsal, each 
about 1.2 in head; pectoral broadly falcate, 1.5 in head, not reaching nearly as far as ventrals; ventrals 
resembling pectoral, slightly longer, 1.35 in head; scales moderate, ctenoid, larger on the sides of body, 
deeper than long, entire body and head scaled, except snout from upper front of eye to tip, scales on 
head small, small scales on entire soft dorsal, anal, and caudal, and most of pectoral and ventrals; 
lateral line concurrent with dorsal outline. 
Color in life (No. 05044, paper tag 3510), 23 inches long, body above lateral line silvery blue, 
with 5 or 6 greenish -yellow stripes which diffuse at the region of nape imparting to the back 
a greenish reflection; below the lateral line 10 greenish-yellow stripes along the intersection of 
scales on pale silvery-blue ground; margin of scales blackish; belly pale silvery blue; throat slightly 
reddish; head and top of nape dark-bluish emerald grqen, margin of scales blackish; a blue bar across 
occiput; snout blackish blue; cheek pale silvery blue; a golden-brown bar from angle of mouth toward 
angle of preopercle, another but wider bar of same color posteriorly from eye; anterior edge of opercle 
golden brown, a greenish-brown blotch on upper corner, a dark blotch on middle, posterior edge dark, 
dirty golden brown; anterior edge of shoulder-girdle and axis of pectoral darkish golden brown; iris 
silvery, anterior and posterior edges golden brown, upper edge dark blue, lower edge pale silvery blue; 
spinous dorsal dark ashy gray, the spines dirty greenish yellow, margin blackish; soft dorsal darkish; 
caudal dark gray, edges blackish, base and root with silvery reflections; anal silvery, margin darkish; 
ventrals pale, darkish silvery, margin blackish, inner side with dark brownish streak along the rays; 
pectoral silvery, margin pale, upper edge blackish, inner side burnt ochre or blackish brown. 
Color in alcohol, brownish olivaceous becoming lighter below, the posterior edge of each scale 
being darker; dorsal slightly darker than the body, edge darker; caudal and anal similar to dorsal; 
pectoral palish brown; .ventrals brownish, tips darker on lower side, the front of rays scaled, the scales 
being white, speckled with brown. 
The above description based chiefly upon a specimen (No. 03012) 17.5 inches long, from Honolulu, 
where we obtained 5 specimens 11 to 23 inches long. The species was also taken by the Albatross at 
Laysan Island. It attains a length of 1 to 2 feet and is a good food-fish. 
On comparison of our specimens with Kyphosus elegans from Mazatlan, we find very little differ- 
ence, and we adopt Kyphosus sandwicensis as a distinct species only provisionally. 
? Pimelepterus elegans Peters, Berliner Monatsberichte, K. Preuss., Ak. Wiss., 707, 1869, Mazatlan. 
Pmelepterus sandwicensis Sauvage, Bull. Soc. Philom., III-IV, 1878-80 (July, 1880), Honolulu. 
Kyphosus elegans, Evermann & Jenkins, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 1891,155 (Guaymas); Jordan & Everruann, Fish. North & 
Mid. Amer. II, 1387, 1898; Jordan & Evermann. Amer. Food and Game Fishes, 453, 1902; Jenkins, Bull. U. S. 
Fish Comm.. XXII, 1902 (Sept. 23, 1903), 453 (Honolulu) ; Snyder, Bull. U. S. Fish Comm., XXII, 1902 (Jan. 19, 1904), 
527 (Laysan Island). 
